Hi everyone, we recently returned from a week at a Airbnb beach house. It was a last minute decision at a house we haven't stayed at before and was a new listing with no reviews, but they did allow dogs, so we could take our miniature shznauzer. Great holiday, house a bit old and dirty but otherwise ok. On returning found the dog has fleas. We have two unopend packets of Revolution flea treatment I found in the back of the cupboard with an expiry 12/13. Will the be ok to use? The dog is 10 yo and never had fleas, and doesn't get flea treatment regularly.
Using expired flea treatment
[Deactivated] on 07/01/2017 - 08:23
Comments
if you loved your dog you wouldnt use expired treatment
And if you loved saving money (being here at ozbargain) then you wouldn't repeat such emotional tripe.
Expiration Date
Veterinarians frequently get calls about "expired" medications. The expiration date indicates the date in which the product should stop being sold or dispensed by the pharmacy. It does NOT mean that the product becomes ineffective or useless on that date.
For example, if you purchased a box of flea medication with nine tablets in it on January first, and you see an expiration date on the box of April of that year, your impression might be that you have only four useful tablets in the box of nine. However, what the drug companies must do is set the expiration date well in advance of the time when any effectiveness might drop off in order to take into account the time it takes the consumer to use the medication.
Essentially, the expiration date takes into account the time it will take the purchaser to use up the medication after it is purchased.
http://www.petmd.com/dog/care/evr_dg_animal_hospital_pharmac…
which confirms what @aoeueoa says below
Same for lots of human medicines, which are often shipped to third world countries once they go past expiry dates as well as bandages and what not. Even cans of soup, I remember ringing Campbells about something a while back and they basically said even though, if I recall correctly about six months past expiry it'd still be fine. Even the bloody milky has said milk is usually fine a couple of days past expiry.
Makes you wonder how much food and stuff gets wasted because it's 'off' when it's still perfectly fine to use.
I don't know about that product specifically, but I've spoken to Bayer Cropscience technical team (who make dog products and other pesticides) and they have said their pesticides will still be effective for at least 2 years after expiry.
If your dog doesn't get flea treatment regularly then what about heartworm treatment? If you've been slack with that then you're best not using revolution and get a flea only product before getting a heartworm test on the dog.
Just use it,if it doesn't work,buy a new one,how hard is that ? lol
Does it specifically state it's the expiry date. Most chemicals list the production date…..not expiry.
Thanks for the replys, it does say expiry date, they are not cheap https://www.budgetpetproducts.com.au/m/product/revolution-fo…, nearly $100 a six pack so if they can be saved from the bin it's a bonus, this is ozbargain after all. I want the fleas gone so will buy flea only treatment and sell the unopened packet of Revolution on Gumtree 😈
I hope you plan to include the Expiry date in your advert. Don't be a douche.
Just think of the welfare of the animals involved, chuck out the expired stuff or give it to your local pet-shelter / let their qualified vet make the decision as to which animals it should be used on (don't 'sell it on' on GumTree to be used on some other poor animal; for what, at best a few dollars in your pocket?), and move on with integrity.
Sheesh.
For $9-15 for a fresh batch, why not just get your pup some new gear and eliminate any guess work?
I mean it's probably fine, but still - get the fleas off them :)